Drunk and Dizzy
by Caramelchan
Summary: Post Bete Noire. Now a twoshot. Tate. They both had bad days.
1. Bete Noire

Title: Attack of the Plotbunnies. Seriously, I have an invasion of them.

AN: I don't know where this came from, but reading it back, I think that it's a little bit of a strange writing style. But yeah. And I might continue, I might not, depending on how I feel about it. POV jumps around a little bit, but if it's not clear who's narrating, let me know and I'll edit it a bit.

Reviews welcome.

Disclaimer: Bruckheimer, you know what I want for Christmas.

* * *

Tony head towards the bar, ready to drink himself into oblivion. The day had been hard on him and it was the only way he could think of to help him forget it.

Vaguely wondering what Kate and Ducky were doing to help soften the memories of what had happened in the morgue, he ordered a drink.

It shouldn't be me who is overdosing on alcohol, he thought as he downed the shot. I didn't have such a bad day… not compared to either of them. They saw Gerald get shot; they looked the bastard in the eye; they probably even touched him. Or he touched them.

Two drinks later, he decided that he had had enough to drink. Gibbs would kill him if he came in the next morning with a hangover.

He headed to the bathroom at the other end of the bar, and when he came out, he was surprised to see a familiar face. Kate was sitting at the bar, next to a mounting pile of empty glasses.

So that's how she copes as well, he mused.

He was about to go over and see if she was okay, when she spoke to the bartender and another round.

Tony sank into the nearest seat. It was weird seeing Kate out of control. She was so far from her normal behaviour that Tony had wondered for a second if Kate had a sister in town.

He was debating whether he should go and take her home or not, when a man he didn't recognise took her hand and lead her to the dance floor. He suddenly sat up straighter. Letting her get stupidly drunk was one thing, but leaving now and letting some guy that she probably didn't know take advantage wasn't something that Tony wanted to do.

He looked at them dance and saw that it was pretty innocent; the guy was only holding Kate's hands and spinning her around. And she seemed to be enjoying it; laughing and smiling in a way Tony had rarely seen before.

Before Tony could come up with some kind of plan of action, the song changed from a floor-filling dance track to a slow ballad. Another glance told Tony that he had to do something.

This guy was lucky that Kate was so drunk; he would have lost his manhood a long time ago if she was sober. He had taken his chances with the ballad and stepped closer to Kate, put his arms round her waist and was kissing her neck. Tony wouldn't have thought anything of it if Kate hadn't been protesting so much. She squirmed and wriggled and pushed him away as he made his advances on her, but wasn't strong enough to fight him off.

Tony wasn't about to put up with that, but also wasn't about to start a fight in the middle of a crowded bar. He could feel Gibbs' hand make swift contact with the back of his head already.

He had to turn to what he did best; improvising.

He elbowed his way through the crowds until he reached Kate. Her protests had become feebler as she ran out of energy. It looked like she needed help to stand.

"Excuse me sir," Tony said, addressing the man Kate was using to stay upright. "Is this lady bothering you?"

The man looked at Tony angrily, but removed his hands from her backside and around her waist. "No-"

"She is?" Tony interjected. "I'll take her out of your way." As he spoke, he took hold of Kate's hand and pulled her towards him. She stumbled and fell towards Tony, who wrapped his arms around her and steered her away.

Once he was out of sight of the now angry man, Tony took a chance to find out what was going on. In the middle of the slow dance, no-one noticed how close Tony's face was to Kate's.

"Hey," he muttered softly. "What are you doing here?"

To Tony's great surprise, Kate burst into tears.

"It was… my… entire fault," she whimpered into his chest. "I could… I could have… stopped him!"

He had been expecting that.

"Kate, listen. It's not your fault at all. And Gerald is doing fine anyway. Now," he said, tilting her chin so she looked up at him. "Was drinking your own weight in alcohol a good plan?"

She shook her head, before leaning back on Tony's chest again.

After a moment: "Did you even know that guy?"

Again, Kate shook her head.

The track ended and Tony saw the guy that Kate had been dancing with heading their way. He decided that it was definitely time for Kate to head home, so he dropped a $20 note on the bar and guided her out.

* * *

The drive back to Kate's house was silent and uneventful.

Kate fell asleep on the way; her eyes closed and her breathing slowed.

Tony kept glancing at her, making sure she was okay, knowing that she was going to regret every mouthful that she had drunk in the last two hours when she woke up.

When the car pulled up at the end of the drive, Kate didn't stir.

"Dammit," muttered Tony, knowing that she would not be happy about being woken up.

"Kate," he whispered, poking her gently. "Kate!"

A moan told Tony that she was awake.

"Kate, you're home. You need to get to bed."

She replied with another moan, before opening the car door and, less than gracefully, climbing out.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tony asked as she started heading towards her front door.

She nodded, but immediately sprang her hand to her forehead and let an expression of pain come to her face.

"You aren't okay," Tony told her as he got out of the car.

Tony walked her towards her house, catching her when she stumbled and twisted her ankle.

She was about to go inside and shut the door, when she turned back.

"You're right. I'm not okay. I thought I was going to get violated twice today and now I'm terrified that I'm not going to wake up tomorrow morning because so much can happen to a person who's sleeping."

_Woah, where did that come from?_ Both Tony and Kate wondered the same thing.

That terrorist must have really, really got to her. I've never seen such a strong person so scared. Should I offer to stay?

Oh crap. He's going to think I'm weak and be constantly overprotective for the rest of time. But I'm so scared right now… maybe I am weak.

"Would you like me to stay here for a bit, Kate?"

There was a pause.

"That would be really great."

* * *

_Buzzz---Buzzz---Buzzz---Buz-_

Kate sat up, immediately regretting it. Her head was pounding and it felt like she had slept with it in a vice and the buzzing that was coming from next to her ear wasn't doing her any favours.

Cursing the person who invented alarm clocks, she headed to the bathroom, where she found a piece of paper stuck to the mirror.

_Kate,_

_I figured you would be in here first when you woke up! I bought you some aspirin; I noticed you had none and I know you'll need it. Top shelf, medicine cabinet._

_See you when you get to work._

_Tony x_

Wow, who thought he could be so thoughtful, mused Kate as she dry swallowed three little white pills and tried to remember what had happened to previous night.

* * *

_"Would you like me to stay here for a bit, Kate?"_

_"That would be really great."_

_Kate led Tony into her living room and sank onto the sofa. Tony sat at the other end and they stared at each other._

_"Hold me, Tony."_

_Her voice was so quiet, the whisper was masked by the tears that were threatening to fall, but Tony still heard._

_When he didn't move, Kate spoke again._

_"Please?"_

_Moments later, she was sitting in his lap, safe in his arms._

_That was all she needed. Someone, anyone, to hug her and make her feel safe from the dark._

_"I thought he was going to rape me Tony. I thought he was going to rape me and then kill me."_

_Tony was shocked. She hadn't told him that yet. She hadn't even told Gibbs that._

_"What?"_

_"He made me lie down on my front and searched me for weapons, and then he said I could roll over. And he looked at me and in his eyes; I could see this hungry look. It was like he was saying 'I can have you Caitlin. Any time I want'. I don't know, I just keep thinking that he's going to come back for me. That's why I'm so scared."_

_It took Tony a moment to take in what Kate had said. Knowing that Kate was a trained profiler, he knew that what she had described was probably very close to what the bastard had probably been thinking when he saw her._

_"… and then at the bar earlier, all I wanted was someone to ask if I was okay or someone to help me. I should have known. Most guys only want one thing."_

_This brought a smile to Tony's face._

_"Just to clarify, that's the last thing I want tonight."_

_"Good!" she replied. "You weren't going to get it!"_

_They both laughed. Tony was glad that they could joke about something, even after the day they'd both had._

_"Thank you Tony," Kate whispered after they had stopped laughing. "Thank you for saving me at work and at the bar, and thank you for not taking advantage."_

_She closed her eyes and relaxed a little more._

_After a few minutes of silence, Kate spoke again._

_"What did you mean about Stockholm Syndrome and falling in love?"_

_Tony thought for a moment._

_"I have no idea. The words just came out. But I guess they made sense, right?"_

_"I guess."_

_Kate closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep._

* * *

Kate arrived at work two minutes before her shift officially started. Twenty-eight minutes later than her ideal arrival time, but still not late.

As she opened the front doors to the NCIS offices, she heard a car pull up behind her. Tony's car.

She had to wait and speak to him.

"Kate, wow. You're awake! And it doesn't look like you have a hangover! Well done!"

"Ugh believe me, I have a hangover!" she told him as he joined her at the doors. "I just don't show it."

"Yeah, right. How many as-"

"Tony," she interrupted. "I need to talk to you."

"You already are."

Okay, smart remarks: not a good idea.

"I need to thank you again for last night. And I need you to know that I'd do exactly the same for you, if you needed it."

"Of course you would," Tony replied in an offhand kind of way. "We are…"

They were looking at each other, deep into each other's eyes.

"…partners," Kate finished.

They shared a smile; a smile that they didn't know could evolve into something beautiful.


	2. Reveille

So I decided to continue. All of you who told methat I should continue better review again.

Postep of Reveille. All other info; same as last chapter.

* * *

A hiss as the elevator doors opened and Tony span around. Standing there was the one person that he'd prayed would return.

"Kate!"

She looked up from the floor and met his eyes for a second, before putting her head down and hurrying to her seat.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, not looking up from the Witness Statement form that she had already picked up from the inch-thick pile of paper that was mounting in her in-tray.

For the next half hour, they sat in silence, neither realising how much they were killing each other with their stubbornness. They both stole quick glances and sometimes long stares at the other, trying to catch the other's eye. The thick, silent air wasn't broken until Kate finished getting the story of her ordeal onto paper. When she was done, she stood up and walked towards the exit. Tony was in hot pursuit.

"Where do you think you're going?" he called after her.

"Home… for a drink… to bed… I don't know."

"And you really think that I'm going to let you walk out of here alone do you Kate?" he asked as he stepped to her side, waiting, as she was, for the elevator. "Remember how much trouble you nearly got into last time?"

The elevator doors opened halfway through Tony's comment, revealing their boss; Gibbs.

"What's this about 'trouble', Dinozzo?" he asked gruffly as he took a swig from his takeaway coffee mug.

"Nothing boss. Kate here," Tony put his arm around Kate's shoulders, as if to show Gibbs exactly who he was talking about, "was just asking me if I would come and stay with her; she doesn't want to be alone." Tony gave her an extra tight squeeze, while Kate looked disgusted.

Ignoring Gibbs' confused look, Tony stepped into the elevator, taking Kate with him.

"Rule seven," Kate muttered as the doors shut.

"Rule seven?" Tony asked, not quite catching on. A moment later: "Oh yeah. 'Always be specific when you lie'. Who said anything about lying?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "You were! 'Ooh Kate needs some company Boss; I'm going to take her home!'"

Tony looked serious. "I wasn't lying, Kate."

Kate looked him in the eye. "I'd rather be on my own."

"Oh come on Kate; you don't hate me that much. Do you?"

For the second time that evening, there was a long stretch of silence between them. This time, it was broken by the opening of the elevator doors. Kate left quickly as soon as the doors were open while Tony stood bewildered.

"Kate," he called after her. "Kate!"

By the time she reached her car, Tony had caught up with her. She felt that he deserved to know at least part of what was in her head.

She sighed before speaking.

"I don't hate you Tony. Don't you see that? That's why I don't want to come back with you."

Tony was taken aback. Is this Kate showing vulnerability of any kind?

Damn her, talking in cryptic all the time.

"What are you talking about Kate?"

"The bastard that kidnapped me… used you… against me. He said that he would kill you if I didn't help him." There was a pause while Kate wondered how to voice her thoughts. "I don't know. For some reason, I had a moment where I could see how life would be if I let him kill you. I gave in."

"Aww Kate! I never knew you cared so much!" said Tony, trying to lighten the mood a little. When he saw Kate's face however, with her tears, of embarrassment more than anything else, ready to fall, all he could do was pull her into a tight hug. It gave Kate a moment to compose herself and Tony a moment to think as well as giving them both some comfort.

After a minute or so, Kate spoke. "I don't care, you know. I was just paying you back for that time when I got drunk and you saved my ass."

Tony chuckled and Kate looked at him, smiling while wiping the last of the water off her cheeks.

"Ready to go home now?" he asked.

She nodded and didn't complain once as he steered her into the passenger seat of the car.

--------------------

"Want to watch a movie?" Tony asked, almost as soon as they entered his apartment. Kate laughed. "How did I know that that would be the first thing you'd suggest?"

"You know me too well. So, movie or food or both?"

A convenient stomach rumble from Kate reminded her that it had been a long time since she had eaten anything.

"I'll take both. You make me some food and I'll choose a movie."

Tony pouted at her. "You'll choose a rubbish chick-flick or something!"

Kate sighed. "Fine. I'll make something to eat and you can choose the movie."

Ten minutes later, Tony was sitting on one end of the sofa and Kate was at the other, each with equally huge bowls of leftover pizza and potato chips, waiting for the film to start.

"I didn't realise that you could eat this stuff Kate," remarked Tony as she took a particularly large bite of cold pepperoni pizza.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," replied Kate with a smirk. "Are we going to watch this film then?"

Over the next hour and a half, they watched the film in near silence, only moving when, after Kate complained that she was cold, Tony fetched a blanket which they shared in the middle of the sofa.

By the time the credits were rolling, both Tony and Kate were nearly asleep. They jerked from their drowsy doze when the credits rolled.

Tony slid out from under the blanket and turned the TV off, before heading back to the sofa and sliding back under the blanket, this time pulling Kate towards him by her hips.

As they lay there, Kate was struck by a sudden though and started laughing.

"What?" Tony said into her neck.

"You know Gibbs thinks we're sleeping together, don't you?"

"What!" Tony exclaimed, sitting up quickly.

"Well, when he arrived, he said "what's this about trouble?". And then you told him that you were taking me home."

"Ooh."

Tony pondered her point for a moment.

"Well, why don't we give him reason to think such thoughts?"


End file.
